CSBG Archive

The Top 50 Most Memorable Covers of the Marvel Age, Day 6

All the way until December 20th, I will be doings posts featuring seven memorable Marvel covers from the past 50 years (since Fantastic Four #1 came out, the beginning of the “Marvel Age”). I will be posting them in essentially random fashion. It does not matter if a cover shows up today or Day 15, they all have the same chance for your final vote. Once all 105 covers are posted, you all will pick the top 50 most memorable covers in the history of the “Marvel Age” and I’ll reveal your choices to you on December 22nd and 23rd.

E-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com for suggestions for covers that you think should be among the choices for the final vote. Remember, we’re talking “memorable” not necessarily “the best looking” covers. Think covers that get homaged a lot, covers that routinely pop up as part of histories of certain characters, etc.

Jake Earlewine

That Steranko Shield cover is one of the finest Marvel covers that Jack Kirby didn’t draw.

The X-Men cover would be great if it weren’t ruined by the terrible text blurbs. Shame on the editor for ruining it!

The Punisher cover is exciting, so I’ll rank it #3 out of this bunch. The other covers? Ho-hum. REally Ho-hum. I know we’re looking for “memorable” covers, not great covers. But both Spider-man covers are pitifully unmemorable, as is the Cable/New Mutants cover. I guess that crappy Hulk cover might be considered memorable, but geez man, the Wolverine character that was introduced here soon evolved into a totally different character. I find this issue quite forgettable.

Peace and merry Christmas to all!

Kabe

Elpie

Kyle

Sorry Jake Earlewine but you are completely off base on saying that the cover to Spider-man #1 by Mcfarlane is “completely unmemorable.” It’s not Days of Future past but that Mcfarlane cover is one of the most homaged (is that a word? I didn’t want to say ripped off) covers in all of comicdom. Aside from the half a dozen or so Spider-man variations of the cover (at least two Venom covers, a Symbiote Spiderman cover, Zombie Spidy, Osborn in a Spider-man costume, and a Scarlet Spider one and a few others), there is a Spawn version, a Deadpool version, a Wolverine version, an Azrael version, a Snake-eyes (G.I. Joe) version, a Gen13 and likely a dozen more.

chad

nice was wondering when hulk 181 the first fight between the big green guy and wolverine would show up. plus nice to see the x-men cover where the dark phoenix saga is about to end. not to mention figured spider man 122 the issue where norman whacks gwen would pop up since 121 was last time.

Jamie

Spider-Man # 1 – It’s a nice cover but I wouldn’t get all excited about a company homaging it’s own character with just another variation of the same cover (especially Marvel and their endless Spider-Man variation covers). When other companies/ characters homage it, it’s memorable – that hasn’t happened with this cover (usually it’s the “Spider-Man No More” cover that’s homaged). Still, all said and done, still a nice cover.

Only the Steranko cover is memorable IMO. None of the others regularly appear on memorable lists, or really come to mind when you think iconic covers. I love Zeck, but that Punisher cover is just too airbrushed and the garbage bin is badly placed making it appear that the Punisher has a metal leg.

AS

I’d have picked earlier Dark Phoenix cover, the one where Scott is carrying Phoenix on his arms, but possibly that’s just me…
Punisher is airbrushed, New Mutants is what it is, and Spideys too, but I’d still consider those memorable.
The only one of this lot I wouldn’t consider worthy is that Hulk cover…